The Contradictions of Cultural Conservatism in the Assault on American Colleges1

This essay argues against conservative charges that leftist faculties dominate the academic world, that these charges deliberately ignore the many conservative dimensions of universities and the myriad conservative forces that impinge on students both within and outside of their education. Pre-eminently, the constantly increasing cost of higher education and pressures toward vocational or professional education, mainly serving the interests of corporate employers, vastly outweigh any liberal or leftist influence of humanities and social science courses. The author has taught at colleges where the conservatism of the majority of students is not based on an educated understanding of politics but on unquestioning conformity to political, religious or economic authority. Any attempt by teachers to challenge that conformity and oblige students to support their opinions with evidence and reasoned argument is apt to cause defensive students to complain they are the victims of liberal ‘bias’.